Metallic trunk



Jtme 24, 1936. L, M, L KE 1,767,143

METALLIC TRUNK Files! Dec. 15, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TOR.

.Fame 24, 1930.

L. M. LA DUKE METALLIC TRUNK Filed Dec. 15, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTOR. lawn/[Z49 30/12 Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES P ENT; carries LOUIS M. LA mm, or Manson, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR To Porcine mrevmereem COMPANY, or JACKSON, MICHIGAN METALLIC TRUNK Application filed December 13, 1926. Serial No. 154,346.

This invention relates to metallic trunks and the like and more particularly trunks intended to be permanently secured upon the rear of automobiles and other vehicles.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of a trunk or like receptacle having a resilient sealing strip secured upon the body portion of the trunk and engageable by the cover portion for effectively sealing the trunk against the ingress of moisture, dust and other objectionable elements.

Another object of my invention is the arrangement of the trunk cover portion with a resilient bead adjacent the lower extremities of its front and sides, which head is initially stifier than and serves to compress a resilient sealing strip carried by the trunk body portion and arranged to be engaged by such bead until the sealing strip. has been substantially compressed, but which bead will itself flex if movement is imparted to the trunk cover after the sealing strip has been compressed to an extent rendering it and its supports more rigid than the bead. This arrangement permits sealing of the trunk against moisture, etc. at various positions of the trunk cover relatively to the trunk body portion but protects the trunk against breakage or permanent distortion when the cover is pulled down upon the body portion to the full extent of its movement.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a metallic trunk with water and dust-tight seams at the extremities of its rear and bottom portions, and which will be comparatively inexpensive to fabricate and assemble.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein similar reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings: V Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my 1mproved metallic trunk with the cover fully closed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross section through the trunk.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the cover portion of the trunk in en gagement with the sealing strip carried by the trunk body portion before the cover is fully closed, and Fig. 4 is a'similar view with the cover fully closed. I

Fig. 5 is a detail view of one lower corner of the trunk, parts being broken away and shown in section.

Fig. 6 is a detail section showing a manner er connecting the endsof the rear portion of the trunk with the side portions thereof.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showin g the manner of connecting the bottom portion of the trunk with the sides and rear portions thereof,

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing one manner of supporting the resilient sealing strip upon the trunk body, and Fig. 9 is a detail section showing a slightly modified manner of mounting such sealing strip. I

-Referring now to thedrawings, the numeral 5 designates a trunk body and 6 the cover thereof, the cover and body being hingedlyconnected at their rear wall, as by the hinges 7. The bodyportion of the trunk is preferably formed of sheet metal of suitable thickness with the front and side portlons of the trunk integral and connected with the rear and bottom portions of the vbody by suitably bending and interlocking the adjacent edges of such portions to form water and dust-tight seams. As best shown in Fig.6 the ends of-the rear portion 8 of the trunk body may be connected with the side and frontportions thereof by bending the side extremities of the rear portion 8 rearwardly and fitting such bent portion into a reversely bent portion at the rear extremities of theside and front portions 5 ofthe trunk' bodyand then again bending the interfitted bentportions of both members to bring them into substantial parallelism with the rear body portion 8. As best shown in. .r

2, 5 and 7 the bottom portion 9 of the trunk body may be formed with downwardly extending flanges along all of its edges,

which downturned flanges are fitted into the inwardly and upwardly bent lower extremities on the portions 5 and 8 of the trunk body. This provides reinforcement for the edges of the bottom portion 9 and spaces the bottom portion proper above the lowermost edges of the rear portion 9 and front and side portions 5 of the trunk body, whereby the bottom proper will not become dented or broken when the trunk is dragged or otherwise roughly handled in transit.

Adjacent its upper extremity the front and side portion 5 of the trunk is inbent to form a horizontal shelf 10 against which may be compressed a resilient sealing strip, as hereinafter described, and an inset wall 11 substantially parallel with the front and sides of the body portion and arranged to carry the resilient sealing strip 12. The preferred manner of mounting the resilient sealing strip 12 is shown in Figs. 2 and 8, the inset wall 11 being punched to form butwardly projecting tabs 13 adapted to be utilized as clamps to hold the upper portion of the resilient sealing strip 12 in firm engagement with the outer face of the wall 11. However, other means of securing the resilient sealing strip 12 may be employed, one simple means being shown in Fig. 9 wherein rivets 14 with comparatively broad heads are utilized to firmly hold the sealing strip 12 to the inset wall 11.

The sealing strip 12 is preferably formed of rubber or other resilient material with an upper and lower arm arranged substantially at right angles to each other and with a central connecting web at the intersection of the arms. This structure provides resilient material on the top of the shelf 10 and in front of the inset wall 11 to cushion any blow that may be brought thereagainst when the cover 6 is lowered into engagement with the body portion of the trunk, while the thickened central portion of the strip at the intersection of the two arms provides a means of effecting a sealing joint with the trunk cover even though the cover be not fully lowered upon the body portion. This use of my improved sealing strip is illustrated in Figs. 3 and l. In Fig. 3 is shown the position assumed by the trunk cover when first lowered into engagement with the body portion of the trunk, the inturned flanged head portion 6 of the cover fitting against the resilient sealing strip 12 to effect a sealing joint de spite the fact that a gap of comparatively great height is left between the adjacent metallic edges of the cover and body portions of the trunk. In other words, should the trunk cover be merely swung toward the body portion until its bead 6 engages the sealing strip 12 but no attempt be made to firmly fasten the trunk cover down upon the body portion the space between the cover and body portions will be effectively sealed against the ingress of moisture, dust, etc. Then when the lever latches 15 are utilized to draw the cover portion 6 down to its lowermost limit the bead 6 of the cover portion first compresses the resilient sealing strip 12 until the strip and its backing members 10 and 11 offer a resistance suflicient to flex the bead 6 of the cover portion, whereupon if the cover is further moved the movement will be absorbed by the flexing of the bead 6*. The head 6 is preferably integrally formed by suitably bending the lower portions of the trunk cover, as to substantially the position shown in Fig. 3, and if desired the bead may be cut away adjacent the corners of the trunk to provide in effect three beads at the front and each side of the cover portion respectively.

In operation the trunk cover is normally maintained in closed position, substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When it is desired to open the trunk the lever latches 15 are swung to release the pressure holding down the trunk cover, whereupon the resiliency of the strip 12 and flange 6 aid in separating the cover and body portions of the trunk. The trunk cover may then be swung to its extreme open position, links 16 being provided, if desired, to limit such upward movement of the cover and aid in maintaining the cover open as long as desired (note Fig. 2). VJhen it is desired to again close the trunk it is merely necessary to swing the links 16 toward the position shown in Fig. 2 and permit the cover 6 to lower until its bead 6 engages the resilient sealing strip 12 upon the body portion. The weight of the cover serves to slightly compress the sealing strip 12 and so provides a seal to prevent the entrance of water, dust, etc. even though the lever latches 15 are not utilized to fully close the trunk cover. hen, however, it is desired to fully close the trunk, it is merely necessary to utilize the lever latches 15 to pull the trunk cover downwardly to the full extent permitted. During such pulling movement the sealing strip 12 is first compressed by the bead 6 of the trunk cover, and then after the strip 12 has been compressed to degree sufiicient to stiffen it beyond the stiffness of the bead 6, further movement of the trunk cover serves to flex the bead 6. Accordingly, both the resilient sealing strip 12 and resilient bead 6 are maintained in tensioned positions while the trunk is closed, serving to tightly seal the mouth of the trunk. By virtue of this construction it is possible to leave my improved trunk in closed position upon the rear of an automobile or like vehicle during rainstorms and while traveling over dusty roads without danger of soiling the articles stored in the trunk, and the car may be washed by the use of a hose or a plurality of sprays without damage to such stored articles.

While it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiment of my invention herein disclosed is well calculated to adequately fulfill the objects and advantages primarily stated, it is to be understood that the inven tion is susceptible to variation, modification and change within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a metallic trunk, a body portion having a horizontal shelf and inset vertical wall at the upper extremity of its front and sides, a resilient sealing strip having a horizontal portion arranged to cover the shelf and a vertical portion engaging the inset wall, and a cover portion having an inturned bead adapted to engage both the vertical and horizontal portions of the resilient strip when the cover is closed.

2. In a metallic trunk, a body portion having a horizontal shelf and inset vertical wall at the upper extremity of its front and sides, a resilient sealing strip having a horizontal portion arranged to cover the shelf and a vertical portion engaging the inset wall, and a cover portion having an inturned bead adapted to engage both the vertical and horizontal portions of the resilient strip when the cover is closed, said bead being resilient but formed with an initial stiffness greater than the initial stiffness of said resilient strip.

3. In a metallic trunk, a body portion having a horizontal shelf and inset vertical wall at the upper extremity of its front and sides, a resilient sealing strip having a horizontal portion arranged to cover the shelf and a vertical portion engaging the inset wall, a cover portion having an inturned bead adapted to engage both the vertical and horizontal portions of the resilient strip when the cover is closed, and spaced tongues integrally formed upon said inset wall for securing the vertical portion of the resilient strip to the body portion of the trunk.

4. In a metallic trunk, a body portion having a horizontal shelf and inset vertical wall at the upper extremity of its front and sides, a resilient sealing strip having a substantially horizontal lower arm covering the shelf and a substantially vertical upper arm secured to the inset wall, a thickened web portion connecting the inner portions of said arms, and a cover portion hinged to the body portion and having an integral bead at its sides and front portions constructed and arranged to contact both of the arms and the web portion of said resilient strip while the cover is being closed.

5. A trunk having a body portion provided with a horizontal shelf and inset wall at the upper extremity of'its front and sides, a resilient sealing strip having a substantially horizontal lower arm resting upon the shelf and a substantially vertical arm secured to the inset wall, and a cover portion carrying hand.

LOUIS M. LA DUKE. 

